A Catty Christmas
by C.Queen
Summary: Chairman Meow's Christmas isn't looking so great this year now that Church is living with him and his pets.  Can the holiday season improve the relationship between the two very different felines?
1. Tail of Two Cats

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

To my friend Lena for Xmas, as she has a great fondness for Chairman Meow.

Tail Of Two Cats

Everyone knows that cats were worshipped in Ancient Egypt like gods. Those Egyptians, they were smart people. The Christians don't worship us the way they should, but they gave us the Christmas I am currently celebrating so I forgive them for being a little dim otherwise. We cats are so totally worth worshipping and anyone who says differently is either a dog or a dog lover. Both are stupid and should not be allowed to give their opinion on any subject other than how to be stupid.

And I, especially, am a cat worthy of worship and admiration. I go by many names, in case you were wondering. Many awe inspiring, powerful, and really impressive names.

But you can call me Chairman Meow.

Chairman Meow is the name my pet gave me; I could have probably come up with something even better. My pet is a warlock named Magnus Bane, you might have heard of him. He's almost as famous and awesome as I am. I think he's a pretty awesome pet, except when he's trying to trim my claws or fur. I get more than a little testy when he does that. Thankfully Magnus hasn't done that in a while since Alec came into his life. Alec is my new pet. He helps me keep Magnus in line and distracts him from doing those sorts of horrible things to me. Magnus is too busy trying to make Alec bright and glittery for the holidays to worry about me. I love my new pet, but if it's every creature for himself in this case.

I would be on cloud nine now that I have Alec for a pet too, but there's one problem with my Alec that keeps me from those cloudy heights. And that's the fact that he comes with baggage. Furry baggage. And like anyone with my level of awesomeness, I have enemies; and my greatest enemy is the creature who also calls Alec his pet.

Church.

I've only known him for a few weeks and already I can say that I've never hated a cat more. I might even hate him more than most dogs. He wasn't even supposed to be living with me and my pets, but apparently he missed Alec so much that Alec's mother asked if HE couldn't come live with us too.

Unfortunately no one asked me.

I'm just thankful that we don't have to live in the same loft. If we did I'd go bald from stress. And I would not look good bald.

Alec bought the loft the one Magnus and I share and my two pets knocked out the wall between their bedrooms, which was the only room they apparently wanted to share. And I couldn't exactly blame the Shadowhunter for not just moving in with us, Magnus's floors are often sticky and there aren't a lot of nice things to sit on the way there is in Alec's loft. Magnus says there's not enough color in Alec's loft, and maybe there isn't, but there are lots of comfy things to sit on and the floors are always clean. I never stick to them the way I sometimes do to Magnus's. I hate when that happens.

But now I have to stay on Magnus's side as much as possible because Church never leaves Alec's place. In fact, he took one look outside the shared bedroom and turned tail for Alec's side so fast he was a blur. He hadn't been back since then as far as I know.

And being that awesome, I know everything.

"You don't know everything, you fluffy twit."

)

Chairman Meow could feel his white fur start to stand on end even more than usual as he turned around to see his enemy strolling towards him like he owned the place. Which, since they were in Alec loft, Church thought he did. Chairman Meow's nemesis considered Alec's side his side since Alec had been his pet first. Chairman Meow was sure that Alec loved him more, but Church refused to believe him. Church really was that stupid and deluded. The fluffy white cat was sure that there must be some dog in the other cat's family tree somewhere. It was the only logical explanation for the fat feline's gross stupidity in Chairman's mind.

"What do you want, Church?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that question? This is not your side of the residence."

Like he was going to take that stuffy attitude of his?

Chairman puffed up with plenty of his own attitude as he glared at the other cat. "Alec is just as much my pet as he is yours, Church, and that means I can come here whenever I want. And FYI, I own this place as much as you do. More then you, in fact, since MY pets own both lofts together and you say Magnus isn't yours. And furthermore, Magnus's loft is slightly bigger than Alec's so that means I own more of our 'residence' than you do!"

"It's funny that size matters to you, given how small you are."

At this point Chairman Meow would have charged and bit Church, but the Persian had shown himself to be very good at swatting him around like a fluffy ball of yarn until someone made him stop. This was just one of the many reasons why Chairman hated him, for anyone who was wondering. Not that it wasn't obvious in the white cat's eyes.

So Chairman Meow was reduced to hissing at Church, which the other cat never took seriously. The big meanie.

And sure enough, the bastard just rolled his eyes at him and turned around to go back the way he'd come. Chairman Meow especially hated when Church did that because Church always waved his tail back and forth when he left, reminding Chairman of a matador waving the red flag in front of the bull, daring him to try something.

"I hate you, Church!"

"Again with you deluding yourself into thinking I care."

Chasing after Church, which was a lot harder to do than it should have been, it didn't surprise Chairman Meow in the least that the other cat was heading straight for Alec. Church just loved to kiss up to Alec when he was around, just to rub it in his face that Alec has been his pet longer then he'd been Chairman's. And he couldn't even rub in the fact that Magnus had been his pet longer because for some reason Church didn't WANT Magnus for a pet, the white cat silently fumed. Not that Church objected to Magnus petting him and stuff, but Church was apparently a one pet sort of cat.

Chairman Meow considered this more proof that Church was messed in the head.

Alec was in his living room by his tastefully decorated Christmas tree, stretched out on his leather couch while reading a book. The Shadowhunter loved that couch a lot and Church did too. They often cuddled up in it while listening to music or reading or watching television. Chairman Meow didn't like seeing them all cuddly like that because then he felt left out. He couldn't get up on the couch unless someone helped him, since he wasn't allowed to use his claws to climb it. Alec didn't mind picking him up, but Church smirked at him when Alec did that which really got under his fur.

After all, Chairman Meow thought to himself grumpily, it wasn't his fault that he was sho- not as big as Church.

And who wanted to be a fat giant anyway?

But luck was with Chairman this time because Alec noticed him coming up to the couch right away and put his book aside, stroking Church with one hand while he lowered the other to the floor so that Chairman could use his hand as his personal elevator.

Then Chairman Meow was placed on Alec's stomach beside Church and the Shadowhunter petted them both really well, just the way they liked it. They loved when Alec stroked them because he was always really slow and gentle when he petted them, not like other people who gave them a quick pat on the head and then shooed them on their way. Alec was the slow and steady sort and they loved him for it.

Chairman Meow glared when he heard a familiar snicker beside him, reminding him again of Alec's main flaw. Turning his head Chairman hissed at Church, annoyed beyond words that the damn cat existed in his world. There was always such a superior air about Church, even though there was nothing superior about him. It really, really pissed Chairman off.

"What are you snickering about?" Chairman Meow demanded to know, trying to focus on the smug jerk, which was hard since Alec was scratching him behind his ears. He really, really loved that and couldn't help but purr like mad.

"I'm snickering at you. What else?"

Just another example of why he hated the other cat, Chairman thought darkly. Which was why he thought that someone should have done the world a favor and drowned Church by now. Or better yet, turned Church into a dog so that he wouldn't be such a disgrace to the entire cat race. But no, not only was Church a cat, but he was a cat Chairman knew he was going to be stuck with forever.

He was not looking forward to that at all.

)

Having lived for over a hundred years Church thought it safe to say that he knew a thing or two more than the average cat. That Chairman Meow was the strangest cat he'd ever met said something about how bizarre a cat the fluff ball really was. The white cat didn't annoy him the way he apparently annoy Chairman though. He actually found the other cat more than a little entertaining.

Who wouldn't find a living Q-tip amusing?

He didn't even mind sharing Alec with Chairman Meow, since it seemed like a small price to pay for getting to live with his favorite pet. He definitely did not want to go back to the Institute without Alec. Not that it hadn't been a great place to live, but once Alec was gone…well there was no one there that the Persian had wanted to cuddle up with. Alec's parents rarely paid attention to him even when they were home and as for Jace, well Church liked to see as little of him as possible. Isabelle's wasn't so bad, but she tended to forget about him when she was dating someone which was often. Though she was as funny as Chairman Meow when she was drunk, he'd give her that.

But still, Church loved Alec best.

"He loves me more, you know."

Rolling his eyes at the other cat's statement Church considered ignoring him, but Chairman Meow usually went nuts when he did that. And as fun as that was to do, he wasn't in the mood to fight with him at the moment. He just wanted to be stroked and that wasn't going to happen if they got into one of their spats. Alec didn't like it when they fought. Plus it was almost Christmas, which meant goodwill towards all men and cats.

"He loves Magnus most." Church pointed out with a knowing smirk, leaning in to Alec's scratching fingers.

Church could see how much this annoyed the little furball, which was no surprise. How could the furball argue after all? Alec and Magnus might be their pets, but the two belonged to each other first and they both knew it. Their pets had a bond that even someone with a brain as small as Chairman's could see.

Not that Church thought Chairman Meow was dumb, but given how small the other cat was his brain couldn't be much bigger than a pea.

"Are you two getting along today?" Alec asked his pets, looking down at them in amusement as he scratched the two cats behind their ears.

Together the two cats nodded for their pet's sake, Alec giving them a look that said he didn't buy their agreement. Fooling their pet was not an easy thing to do. Of course Alec and Magnus had no idea how bad things were, since they weren't smart enough to speak cat, but they were reasonably intelligent for their kind and had picked up on the cats' less than friendly vibes.

)

At that point Magnus appeared to drag Alec off the couch so that they could head to his side of their home for his big Christmas party. Magnus had been talking about this particular party all week so Church knew there was no chance he was going to get to spend his evening lazing around with Alec. Nope, Alec was being dragged off to said party whether he liked it or not. The warlock had been decorating for it all afternoon and Alec had only gotten out of that because Magnus had quickly realized that decorating wasn't Alec's forte.

Church really, really hoped Alec wouldn't have to dress up his head like Magnus's for the party. The warlock was wearing antlers and had dyed his hair red with green and white sparkly tips. The man had also somehow colored his lips to look like a red and white candy cane. Church found that fact particularly disturbing.

"He better not put sparkles all over my pet tonight." Church grumbled, more to himself than to Chairman as they were set on the floor by Magnus, so that the warlock could tug a reluctant Alec to his feet.

"There's nothing wrong with sparkles." Chairman Meow shot back, even though he hoped that too. Alec was always a little cranky when he had to spend a lot of time removing the sparkles he always seemed to end up decorated with. Alec never let Magnus put much sparkly stuff on him, but Magnus tended to rub off on Alec literally.

Church's expression said he didn't believe that for a minute. "Then why don't you leave me alone and go roll around in some of those sparkles?" The Persian suggested, thinking that a break from the pissy cat would be a really nice early Christmas present.

"Maybe I will."

And with that Chairman Meow headed off to join the party, leaving Church behind.

)

Chairman Meow really regretted his decision to join Magnus's party two hours later when he ran into the main bedroom, not stopping as he headed straight for the door that led into Alec's side of the loft. Leaving a trail of glitter behind him Chairman Meow hurled himself through the cat door flap and headed for the stairs that led down to the main floor. Stumbling down the too big stairs in his hurry the little cat landed at the bottom in a heap, whimpering a little as he lay sprawled there. Looking up when he heard the pattering of footsteps, Chairman stared up at Church in misery.

Just when he'd thought things couldn't get any worse.

Church blinked at he stared at the other cat, not quite able to believe what he was seeing. Someone had taken what he assumed was hair gel to the cat's fur, making them stand out like mini spikes. Red, white and green spikes. With loads of glitter thrown onto the fur for good measure. And there were three bows around the fluff ball's tiny tail and another around his neck.

Looking at the miserable cat, Church slowly shook his furry head. "Thank God I don't go to his parties."

"Magnus didn't do this to me! He was too busy making out with Alec to notice what those damn drunk elves were doing to me. They were going to pierce my ears and put ornaments in them! "

Cringing in sympathy Church moved in to get a closer look. "You're a mess."

If he could have cried he would have. Hunching his shoulders Chairman was more miserable than he could ever remember being. He looked like a freak and it would be hours before the party winded down. And now Church had seen him and…and…

Whimpering, Chairman Meow put his paws over his eyes, revealing that his claws had been painted red as well.

The little cat's pout didn't last long though, Chairman Meow's eyes opening wide when he felt himself being lifted into the air. And then suddenly he was being moved, suspended by the nape of his neck like he weighed nothing. Squirming, Chairman tried to get a look at the other cat, shocked speechless over what Church was doing.

"Where…where are you taking me?"

Church didn't answer, Chairman realizing belatedly that the other cat couldn't have spoken if he wanted to. Church's mouth was a little full at the moment.

They walked across the wood floors and to the loft's main floor bathroom, the larger cat big enough to push the door open with its side. As soon as there was enough room to slide in Church did so, carrying the smaller cat with him. Using the toilet seat as a stepping stone Church hopped from there to the main sink, dropping the cat into the basin there.

Realizing belatedly what the cat indeed to do Chairman was opening his mouth to complain when Church used his head to push the tap off to the right, sending icy cold water spraying down on the smaller cat.

"COLD!"

"Opps." Leaping onto the other side of the basin, Church quickly turned on the tap to the other side. "Better?"

"Than what? Getting my ears pierced?" Glaring up at the other cat as the hair dyes ran off his body in colorful rivets Chairman quickly closed his eyes so as not to get anything in them as he forced himself to walk under the spray to get as much of the guck off as possible. "Why are you helping me anyway?"

"Maybe I'm just trying to drown you?"

"Ha, ha, very funny."

"You're looking pretty darn funny to me."

"Oh, bah humbug."


	2. Beneath The Tree

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's the way it is. Thanks to reading, I hope you like it.

Merry Christmas To All, especially Lena

Beneath The Tree

When Chairman Meow was thoroughly drenched Church turned off the water once more, using his teeth then to drag one of the bathroom's hand towels off the nearby rack. Dragging it over and across the counter Church looked over his handiwork before turning his attention to the mess shivering at the bottom of the sink. Seeing that the much tinier cat wouldn't be able to get out of the sink alone, Church slid down and gingerly picked Chairman up by the nape again, leaping back up onto the counter with one graceful bound. Setting the cat down on the towel Church used his teeth to drag the towel up and over the red, white and green cat.

"Roll around in the towel, get yourself dry." He sure as heck wasn't helping with that part, Church thought as he stuck his tongue out in disgust. He already had a bad taste in his mouth from carting the other feline around.

Watching the towel move while the cat within rolled Church waited what he hoped was enough time before he tugged the towel off the other cat to get a look at how bad the damage still was.

If Church could have laughed he would have broken all his ribs doing so.

The shivering feline's white fur was covered in red and green splotches, sticking up all over the place in some places and matted in others. One bow still clung heroically to the cat's tail, soaking wet and looking utterly ridiculous.

Chairman Meow looked like he was ready to cry. "I look awful, don't I? Worse than a drowned rat. I probably look worse than one of those fro fro dogs airheads carry around in their purses like toys. Why couldn't a werewolf have just eaten me instead?" He added with a pitiful wail of self pity.

'Why would a werewolf want to eat you? You'd be down in one gulp and Magnus would kill the stupid furball afterwards." Church pointed out, feeling a little bit bad at the hurt look on the other cat's face. "Well come on then, lets get you out of here." Picking the cat up once more by the nape Church was more than a little concerned when the usually loud cat didn't make a sound of protest. Maybe the vain cat had gone into shock, Church considered as he hopped off the sink and onto the toilet lid, hopping from there to the floor.

He'd intended to deposit the pesky cat in the bedroom for their pets to fuss over later, but Church knew that the odds of Alec and Magnus turning in anytime soon were low. And he wasn't entirely sure it would be safe to leave the oddly behaving cat by himself in this sort of mood. Chairman Meow could be a very unpredictable feline at times.

And so with a mental sigh Church headed for the Christmas tree, resigned to doing his duty.

)

Church's bed basket was under the tree due to his love of the Christmas lights and smell of the real pine tree. Setting the shivering cat in his basket Church leapt over the silent fluff ball and sighing over the staining of his bedding and his fur spooned himself around Chairman, instinctively wrapping his tail over the little cat's back like a blanket.

Curling up into as tight a ball as possible Chairman laid there and tried not to think about how pathetic he was feeling. That Church was really, really soft and warm was annoying, especially since his fur was looking pretty stupid at the moment. He hadn't been brave enough to look in the mirror at the damage but Church's expression had said it all. He was probably making the Grinch look pretty right about now, Chairman silently moaned. This was going to be the worst Christmas ever!

"Marley was dead."

Chairman Meow was so surprised by Church's words that the little cat forgot he was being miserable. "What? Marley is dead? Who's Marley? I don't know anyone named Marley. Why are we talking about a dead person I don't even know on Christmas? What kind of dog/cat are you? It's Christmas!"

"That's the opening line for Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol'." Church informed the smaller cat, letting the dog comment go for the time being. "One of my past pets used to read that story to her kittens every night in stages during the Christmas week leading up to Christmas Eve. It seemed to make them happy enough, even the parts that were supposed to be frightening. I was going to tell you what I remember of it to take your mind off your ridiculous appearance. You're sorta acting like the main character in the story anyway. Scrooge was a pretty miserable individual."

"Quit making fun of me, Church! If you'd been there you'd look just as bad as I do right now! Probably even worse!"

"Unlike you I wasn't stupid enough to go over there knowing I'd be surrounded by drunk Downlanders." Church countered in the superior tone Chairman hated. "I avoid them whenever possible and that's kept me around longer than you can count."

"I can count." Chairman muttered as he sulked, too worn out to get really mad at the other cat like usual. And besides, he was really comfortable where he was and Church would definitely kick him out if he became too annoying for the fat cat to stand.

"So back to Scrooge then?" Church asked, wanting to change the subject. He didn't want to have to treat Chairman Meow like Scrooge treated Bob Cratchit in the story. It would reflect badly on him, to kick the little creature when he was down.

Chairman Meow blinked in surprise as he recognized that unusual name. "Scrooge? I know Scrooge. He was in 'The Muppets Christmas Carol'. I love that movie!"

"O-kay." Church didn't know what muppets were, but decided to guess that they might be similar to puppets. A puppet show about the classic novel? Most humans weren't intelligent enough to read and understand Dickens's works after all, Church thoughtfully hypothesized. How sad that they had to use puppets now to educate the mindless masses. That that was how Chairman Meow and Magnus knew the story didn't surprise the large feline that much either. His warlock pet didn't seem to read anything but tabloids, spell books and entertainment magazines.

"Wanna watch the movie? We have it on Blue-ray." Chairman offered after a thoughtful silence. He doubted the larger feline had ever seen the muppet version, and it was one small way he could help repay the other cat for helping him out with his fur problems.

"Which would be in the other loft, wouldn't it?" Church pointed out, feeling a little bad for disappointing the cat when Chairman's face fell once more. "We could try to sneak into the video room if you wanted." He didn't want to, but in the spirit of Christmas and all that he was willing to try. So long as he didn't have to carry the little bugger again, Church silently amended. He drew the line at that.

Chairman shook his head firmly, just the thought making him instinctively curl up close to Church's side. "I am not going back there. You tell me the story instead and I'll add in the parts from the muppets' movie."

Church thought that was sort of a stupid idea, but he didn't want to have to deal with the depressed furball either so he gave in for the moment. "Okay, so Marley was dead and the story begins with his grouchy old partner Ebenezer Scrooge."

"Narrated by Gonzo and Ratso."

"What?" Churched stared down at the cat in surprise. There were no characters with those names in the novel. "Who are Gonzo and Ratso?"

"They're the narrators." Chairman Meow explained in a tone of voice that indicated that should be obvious, the little cat's eyes drooping as he absorbed the warmth coming off the other cat's body. "Gonzo is…well I'm not really sure what Gonzo is. He's blue and has a long nose like a banana. Ratso is a sarcastic, wise cracking rat. They tell the story in the muppet movie."

"A rat? There's a rat in your version of the story?" Church shook his head at the abstract painting that was now Chairman Meow in disbelief. "And you call me a dog/cat. What kind of cat are you, to want to hear a story narrated by a filthy rodent and his blue friend?"

Chairman shook his head right back, though he could understand how the other cat could have that misconception. He didn't like rats either, but Ratso was the exception. "No, Ratso is sick, Church. He's the exception to the rule. All the other rats can die horrible, horrible deaths at my claws. And Ratso isn't a real rat anyway. He's a muppet. He just sorta looks like a rat."

Church looked down at the small cat thoughtfully. "Are your claws even big enough to kill a rat?"

"I got away from the elves, didn't I? They looked worse than me when I was done with them." That was a bald face lie, but Chairman refused to believe otherwise. And he had certainly drawn blood, it wasn't just polish on his claws, Chairman thought with a hint of pride. He'd made those ugly plant people sorry.

The older cat snickered as a thought occurred to him. "You were beating on elves on Christmas Eve."

"They weren't those kind of elves!" Chairman protested with more than a little indignation.

"How do you know?" Church shot back with a devious gleam in his eyes, too used to teasing the little guy not to. "Maybe they are the elves that help Jolly Old Saint Nick at Christmas time. Now you won't get any presents, Chairman Meow, you'll be on the Naughty List forever."

"I will not! There's no such thing as Santa Claus and I am too getting presents. I'm getting loads of presents. My pet always spoils me rotten at Christmas and now that I have Alec I'll be even more spoiled. I'll be the most spoiled cat ever for Christmas."

Church shook his head at the thought, a little horrified at the idea that it might be possible for the little cat ego to become even bigger. "You're already spoiled enough as it is."

Chairman Meow stared up at Church with his ego firmly inflated for the time being as he superiorly corrected the misinformed feline. "One can never be too spoiled, Church."

"That's a matter of opinion."

"Just shut up and tell me the story, you ignoramus."

He thought sincerely about making a crack about how that was a big word for a small cat, but Church sucked it up and was the bigger cat. Both literally and figuratively, Church thought with a faint grin as he answered the impatient Q-Tip. "As you wish, your Chairman-ship." And with another shake of his head Church once again began telling the Christmas Carol.

)

Walking into their bedroom Alec shrugged off the arm Magnus had slugged over his shoulder. Ignoring the neck kisses he was getting from the warlock Alec headed for the door leading into his loft with difficulty, Magnus certainly not making it easy for him to move where he wanted to go. "Magnus, quit it." Alec ordered when Magnus tries to steer him towards their bed. "Your loft is full of people right now and I have to check on the cats."

"The cats are fine, luv. It's me who needs your love and attention." Magnus purred out with a grin, nuzzling his face against the side of the Shadowhunter's neck.

"There were two very drunk elves at your party who were sporting facial scratches and cursing Chairman Meow's existence very vocally when they stormed out. I want to make sure that he's okay and I can't find him on your side of the residence. If he went to my side then he must be desperate. Church is there and we aren't."

"Chairman's a tough little guy. I'm sure he's fine." Magnus yanked Alec back against him by the man's hips, leaning in to whisper suggestively in the Shadowhunter's ear. "That's not a candy cane in my pocket you know. So why don't we-."

Alec rolled his eyes, doing his best not to think of the various suggestions Magnus was no doubt planning to make about his 'candy cane'. "What is it about Christmas that turns you into such a ho, ho, ho?"

Not the least bit insulted Magnus laughed at the comment and nipped the bottom of the other man's ear in retaliation.

"Look, go back to your party and I'll be back momentarily." Alec promised, breaking free of the warlock's hold reluctantly.

"No you won't. You'll find some excuse to stay in your loft as long as possible because you don't like wild, drunken parties. You're just using the cats as a diversion." Magnus charged, wagging a finger at the Shadowhunter. "But I'm on to you, my sexy Shadowhunter. And you promised to come to my party if I promised to let you pick out the outfit I'm wearing to the Institute for Christmas Day dinner."

He had indeed promised, and he was a man of his word. However... "I'm going to go check on the cats. You can come with me if you want but I'm going. And this does not negate our deal either." Alec added with a warning look.

"Fine then, let's go and check on the kitty cats."

Walking over to the door with Magnus Alec opened the door, eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of sparkles all over his hardwood floors. That hadn't struck him unusual in their bedroom, there was always sparkles scattered there no matter how many times he vacuumed. But these sparkles were in strangle clumps and following them down the stairs Alec raised an eyebrow at the splatter pattern on the bottom of his stairs. "Okay….that so better not be blood."

The Shadowhunter's words had Magnus's grin dying a quick death, the warlock kneeling down beside Alec to check out the strange reddish brown stain on the landing. "I don't know what it is but it's not blood."

Together the two followed the faint sparkle trail into the bathroom, finding the sink stained and a ruined towel that looked at though it had been in contact with red, brown and green hair dye.

"Let's go find Church, he's probably in his basket under the tree. He'll know where Chairman Meow is if he's over here." Hurrying out of the bathroom Alec knelt down beside the tree to look under it, a look of shock coming over his face as he stared at the sight before him. "Magnus…you're never going to believe this."

Crouching down beside Alec Magnus stared at the two cats as well, shaking his head as he chuckled. "Well I'll be. Talk about your Christmas miracles."

Their cats were curled up together in Church's bed, Chairman's fur a bright mix of Christmas colors against Church's normal hue. The little cat was pressed up against Church's side on his back, the larger cat's tail lying over and around Chairman's stomach like a blanket. The two seemed to fit somehow, looking completely natural together for the first time either man could remember since the two felines had crossed paths.

"It probably helps that they're both asleep and therefore can't argue or make faces at each other in their feline ways." Magnus drawled out as he reached out to carefully stroke the top of Chairman Meow's head. "Looks like the elves decided to give Chairman Meow a makeover. No wonder their faces were so scratch up. He always goes for the eyes when anyone other than me does that to him." And even then he had to bribe his pet before the cat would submit to the sparkles and bows.

"Good to know." Not that he would ever do that to the poor cat, Alec thought as he studied the damage, reaching out to remove the bow dangling from Chairman's tail. "I guess we leave them for the night? We can fix Chairman Meow's fur tomorrow. I'd hate to wake them and spoil their temporary truce."

"Maybe them getting along is their Christmas present to us?" Magnus suggested as they got to their feet, wrapping an arm around the Shadowhunter's waist when they were both standing in front of the tree once more.

Alec grinned as he met his warlock's gaze. "Second best present of the night then."

The warlock's eyebrow rose questioningly, intrigued. "What was the best present? You haven't opened any of the amazing presents I bought for you. Unless you peeked. Did you peek, Alexander Lightwood?"

Not sure how to take Magnus's reaction Alec just smiled and reached out to cup the man's head, drawing the warlock's head down for a long, slow kiss. "The best present will be when I'm cuddled up against you later tonight."

"And that will be something we can always agree on."

The two heading back towards the party Alec glanced back one more time, his voice soft and low.

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night."


End file.
